Boldness and its relation to psychopathic personality: Prototypicality analyses among forensic mental health, criminal justice, and layperson raters.

Abstract

Research on psychopathic personality has been dominated by a focus on criminality and social deviance, but some theoretical models argue that certain putatively adaptive features are important components of this construct. In 3 samples (forensic mental health practitioners, probation officers and a layperson community sample), we investigated adaptive traits as conceptualized in the Triarchic model of psychopathy (Patrick et al., 2009), specifically the relevance of boldness to construals of psychopathic personality. Participants completed prototypicality ratings of psychopathic traits, including 3 items created to tap components of boldness (Socially bold, Adventurous, Emotionally stable), and they also rated a series of attitudinal statements (e.g., perceived correlates of being psychopathic, moral judgments about psychopaths). The composite Boldness scale was rated as moderately to highly prototypical among forensic mental health practitioners and probation officers and positively associated with other theoretically relevant domains of psychopathy. Across samples, higher composite Boldness ratings predicted greater endorsement of adaptive traits (e.g., social skills) as characteristic of psychopathy. For the individual items, Socially bold was rated as highly prototypical and was associated with theoretically relevant correlates. Adventurous also was seen as prototypical, though to a lesser degree. Only forensic mental health practitioners endorsed Emotionally stable as characteristic of psychopathy. Our results provide partial support for the contention that the boldness concept is viewed as an important component of psychopathy, particularly among professionals who work directly with offender populations. (PsycINFO Database Record

Comparing the lexical similarity of the triarchic model of psychopathy to contemporary models of psychopathy

“…Although past CAPP prototypicality research has demonstrated considerable overlap between mental health professionals and laypeople (Hoff et al, ), some differences have emerged between laypeople and mental health professionals. Only the latter group found moderate associations between boldness and CAPP Dominance (Sörman et al, ). Future research should explore similar lexical studies among mental health professionals to test whether conceptual confusion occurred among university students.…”

“…Factor analyses of Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP; Cooke, Hart, Logan, & Michie, ) self‐ratings yielded a bi‐factor model comprising a Boldness/Emotional Stability residual factor (Sellbom, Cooke, & Hart, ). Further, laypeople have rated boldness as a relevant trait in Cleckley's () case studies (Crego & Widiger, ), and criminal justice and forensic mental health professionals have rated boldness as prototypical of psychopathy (Sörman et al, ). Taken together, some have argued that boldness is relevant to nomological networks and conceptualizations of psychopathy (Lilienfeld et al, ; Patrick, Venables, & Drislane, ).…”

Self‐ and informant perceptions of psychopathic traits in relation to the triarchic model

“…For example, the defining features of psychopathy proposed by Cleckley included multiple ostensibly adaptive characteristics, even going so far as to state that “everything about [the psychopath] is likely to suggest desirable and superior human qualities, a robust mental health” (, p. 339). Additionally, forensic and correctional professionals rate certain aspects of boldness (e.g., social dominance) as highly prototypical of the broader construct of psychopathy (Sörman et al, ), and boldness further appears to be relevant in distinguishing psychopathy from antisocial personality disorder (Murphy, Lilienfeld, Skeem, & Edens, ; Wall, Wygant, & Sellbom, ). The utility of boldness in this respect is reflected in the DSM‐5 alternative model of personality disorders (APA, ), which contains a psychopathy specifier for diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder to indicate the added presence of traits related to interpersonal dominance and emotional resiliency.…”

Are fearless dominance traits superfluous in operationalizing psychopathy? Incremental validity and sex differences.

“…Other recent research (Sörman et al, in press) indicates that criminal justice professionals (i.e., forensic mental health practitioners and probation officers) who work directly with offenders rate aspects of boldness as prototypical features of psychopathy and also associate boldness with quasi-adaptive behaviors (e.g., better social skills, avoiding arrest) and outcomes (e.g., life success).…”